area. Sure enough, a thief jumped out of the bushes, demanding all his money. Wesley had only a few coins to give him. As the fellow turned to run, the old saint startled him by calling out, “Just a minute, sir, I have something more to give you. You’ve overlooked the most priceless treasure.” Eagerly the sinful man returned to hear the solemn word of caution, “Some day, you may live to regret your stealing. If you do, then never forget these rich words, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.’ ” John Wesley was the same faithful servant in the pulpit as well as when dealing personal ly with his fellow men. There was a marked consistency in his life. A num ber of years later, after Wesley had finished speaking in a certain church, he shook the hands of parishioners at the door. When most of the crowd had left, a man stepped forward from the side and identified himself as none other than the highway robber. He had now become an upstanding businessman. By personal faith in Jesus Christ, he had become a child of God. He explained to Wesley, “I could never get your words out of my mind. They haunted me with the realization that I needed the Sav iour. Thank you for what your testi mony meant that night long ago!” You may not meet anyone today, or even as long as you live who will demand your wallet or purse. Yet, there are really millions of people walking around our cities each day who are robbers and beggars. They are seeking, but they never find. Will you share with them your treasure, the inestimable gift of eternal life? It’s found only through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Always keep in mind that you are a living letter, an epistle written not on tables of stone but on the fleshly tables of the heart, known and read of all men. So few of us can stand prosperity, especially when it’s the other fellow’s! Faith ends where worry begins and worry ends where faith begins. It is impossible to bring the world to Christ, but we can take Christ to the whole world. 27
have been kicked out. Some folks think they have no hope of ever achieving what the world would call success. An interesting experiment was conducted with 20 people in a specific office. On a sheet of white letterhead the firm’s manager dropped a small dot of ink. Each of the employees, individually, was called into the office. When he was handed the paper, the boss simply asked, “Tell me what you see?” Each looked over the sheet carefully. Without ex ception, every one of them replied, “Why, I see a black spot; it’s right there.” This proved the point. Not one of them seemed to be impressed by the white paper. It covered an expanse many times the size of the small dot. To conclude the test, the manager called all 20 of the employees together and explained, “This is the reason why we haven’t attained success as an organi zation. Our problem is that all we could see is a little black dot, not the wide opportunities which are always before us.” Isn’t it true that some people seem to delight in looking for blemishes, but only in the other person? Most of us have not just one black dot, but many unfortunate spots in our lives. It’s a wonderful thing to realize that there is One who, while He sees and knows all about our blemishes, has given us His own blood which removes the stain, making our lives pure and white. The Bible tells us, “He hath not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us ac cording to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them who fear Him.”
How is it that some men can forget God all day and then ask Him to rem'em- ber them at night?
A MESSAGE FOR THE THIEF In the days when John Wesley was an itinerant preacher he had. just such an experience. While traveling in a re mote area, noted for highway robbers, the faithful evangelist moved on with out fear. After he had finished preach ing one evening, he started~ off on the long tiresome journey home. As he left the city, he found himself in a desolate
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